Met Police calls on printer firms to back Code of Conduct

28 Jan 10

The Metropolitan Police Service has been working very closely with the printing industry to prevent specialist equipment from falling into the hands of criminals.

By Brian Sims

Since its inception two years ago, Project Genesius (part of Operation Maxim) has resulted in the disruption of 14 criminal networks, the seizure of hundreds of printers and other specialist equipment and the discovery of over 30,000 false identities.

Project Genesius was first established by officers from Operation Maxim – the Metropolitan Police Service’s Organised Immigration Crime Unit – to encourage companies selling printers, stamps and other specialist equipment to sign up to a voluntary Code of Conduct.

Speaking at a special Press Briefing held at New Scotland Yard on Tuesday morning, detective chief inspector Nick Downing, who’s leading Project Genesius, said: “We need members of the printing industry to continue to come forward and agree to help us with this initiative. They’re integral to our success in being able to combat the production of false identity documents.”

To date, 90 printing and stamp industry members have signed up to the voluntary Code of Conduct, but Downing wants many more to do so. “There are potentially thousands of companies, small, medium and large that sell these products. We already have good relationships with the industry, and need more companies to join us.”

About the Code of Conduct

Printing system manufacturers are being asked to back the Code of Conduct by adhering to its various elements.

Websites

• To carry a caveat on the ‘Contact us’ and/or Home Page, such as: "‘This company (name) supports Project Genesius, the Metropolitan Police Service initiative to prevent the illegal use of printing equipment. Equipment will only be supplied for legitimate applications and data may be shared with Law Enforcement (similar wording may be inserted on quotations, invoices, contracts and company e-mails).

This may include a link to the Metropolitan Police Service website (http://www.met.police.uk/op_maxim/partners_agencies.htm) to reinforce the message.

Record keeping

• All companies must maintain and retain proper records of all transactions for both UK and overseas customers

Customer profiling

• All companies must profile each new customer as per the suggested criteria

Supply of goods

• If there are any doubts as regards the legitimacy of the customer or their use of the equipment then that equipment must not be supplie

d. If companies do supply to such a customer they are at risk of losing the manufacturers’ or distributors’ contract and gaining the scrutiny of Law Enforcement

Supply of Information

If there are any suspicions about an order, please contact Operation Maxim by e-mail: operationmaxim@met.pnn.police.uk or by telephone (on 0208 785 8147)
Any information will be treated in the strictest confidence and dealt with in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998

Downing stressed that officers dedicated to the project are working hard to prevent the sale of certain printers, stamps and other specialist equipment while at the same time educating the industry on the ways in which criminals intent on creating false identities go about their activities.

“The use of false identities is widespread across the United Kingdom, and impacts on all of us,” asserted Downing. “By working with the industry we can really make a significant impact. I would encourage any company selling these products to sign up to our Code of Conduct.”

If you would like to find out more about Project Genesius and the Code of Conduct please e-mail Project Genesius at: Operation MAXIM@met.pnn.police.uk

Case Study: Operation Hornblende

At the Press Briefing, details were unveiled concerning the latest case prosecuted thanks to Project Genesius.

An Albanian criminal gang who forged thousands of passports and identity cards from their base in a North London flat were sentenced to more than 21 years in prison on 17 December last year.

The defendants were:

• Ismail Hasko (6.7.86: 23 years of age) of Farm House Court, Bunns Lane, Mill Hill

• Andi Hasko (11.4.88: 21 years of age) of Farm House Court, Bunns Lane, Mill Hill

• Valmir Gjoshi (11.4.88: 21 years of age) of Highwood Court, Finchley Road

• Malik Cherad (27.7.73: 36 years of age) of Buckingham Lodge, Muswell Hill

• Abdi Ali (20.11.80: 29 years of age) of Limes Close, Limes Avenue, Enfield

All sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court after pleading guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and supply counterfeit travel/identity documents.

Vast array of forgery equipment

The gang was caught following intelligence rendered by Project Genesius. The investigation itself, codenamed Operation Hornblende, was led by officers from the MPS Organised Immigration Crime Unit, Operation Maxim, who work in partnership with the UK Border Agency.

The Court heard how, on 6 April 2009, officers from Operation Maxim executed a search warrant at Farm House Court, Enfield. The search uncovered a vast array of sophisticated false travel/identity documents and forgery equipment, including more than 2,000 counterfeit passports, identity cards and National Insurance cards.

Specialist equipment included printers, stamps, metallic strips, embossers and holograms.

Further investigations revealed Gjoshi had arranged for the factory to be set up, while Cherad acted as a ‘middleman’ passing data to the Hasko brothers for inclusion on the forged documents.

On questioning, Ali admitted requesting false identification documents to be made for him to sell on to ‘customers’ for profit. He told police officers it cost him between £40 and £50 to purchase a counterfeit UK driving licence, and that he sold them on at a profit of between £80 and £100.

Guilty pleas at Wood Green Crown Court

All five pleaded guilty to the following counts...

Valmir Gjoshi

Conspiracy to manufacture/supply counterfeit identity documents = one count

Ismail Hasko

Possession of apparatus/articles for making false identity documents with intent = one count
Possession of identity documents with intent = five counts
Conspiracy to manufacture/supply counterfeit identity documents = one count

Andi Hasko

Possession of apparatus/articles for making false identity documents with intent = one count
Possession of identity documents with intent = five counts
Conspiracy to manufacture/supply counterfeit identity documents (Criminal Law Act 1977) = one count

Malek Cherad

Conspiracy to commit forgery = one count
Conspiracy to produce/supply counterfeit identity documents = one count
Possession of two false French passports with intent = one count

Abdi Ali

Conspiracy to manufacture/supply counterfeit identity documents (Criminal Law Act 1977) = 1 count
Possession of identity documents with intent (Identity Cards Act 2006) = one count
Possession of identity documents with intent (Identity Cards Act 2006) = one count
Possession of identity documents with intent (Identity Cards Act 2006) = one count

Gjoshi and Ismail Hasko both received six years in prison, Andi Hasko received five years, Cherad received three-and-a-half years and Ali received 14 months.

Last word from Maxim

At the time of sentencing, Maxim’s detective inspector Clive Strong said: “Any criminals considering becoming involved in this type of crime should be aware that Operation Maxim has a proven track record of success.”

Strong added: “The conviction of this sophisticated criminal network sends a loud and very clear message to those involved in forgery factories like this. We will not tolerate this form of criminal behaviour, and we’ll track down those responsible and hold them accountable.”

There's an ever-growing demand for counterfeit identity documents from organised crime groups and, in the lead-up to the 2012 Olympic Games, that demand is only going to increase. It's vital that the printing manufacturers and end users of their systems help Project Genesius in any way they can.

Readers' comments

John Barker 01 Feb 10
Brian

The news that NHS Lambeth has escaped fines following the unwitting employment of illegal immigrants has sparked outrage among private sector companies which, if caught in the same situation, could be looking at fines of £10,000 per illegal worker.

The fact that NHS Lambeth do carry out pre-mployment checks on staff proves that these procedures may need to be updated in order to deal with the high quality counterfeit ID documents now available.

Counterfeit ID documents are of increasingly better quality, but there are ways for employers to avoid getting into hot water in the first place. There are tools on the market that allow recruiting staff to authenticate passports, driving licenses and visa documents, ensuring employees are eligible to work in the UK.

The law clearly states that it’s the responsibility of the employer to ensure that the staff they hire are eligible to work in the UK. The UK Border Agency is cracking down on illegal employment, and those caught breaking the law could be facing fines of up to £10,000 per illegal worker.

If these workers have been knowingly employed it could result in an unlimited fine and/or maximum prison sentence of two years.

NHS Lambeth has managed to avoid a fine this time, but other organisations may not be so fortunate. A fine of this magnitude could be the ruination of many SMBs.

This incident should serve as a warning to other UK companies which may also have illegal immigrants in their employment without even realising it.

John Barker, managing director, TSSI

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